Chapter 4

I cried for a very long time, but it was also late that same night that I figured some things out for myself.

There were certain things I could completely free myself of.

So, starting from the next day, I returned to what Mom considered my normal state.

I obediently did everything that was asked of me without putting up a fight.

One week later, she fetched me home.

The first sight that greeted me was a mountain of dirty dishes.

"Go wash the dishes. I haven't had anyone helping me over the past few days, so I'm exhausted," Mom ordered.

Without saying a word, I walked over to the counter to get to work.

Next, I was presented with a basket of dirty laundry.

Some clothes were made of fabric that couldn't be machine-washed and needed to be hand-washed.

As I scrubbed away at the tub, Susan brought two more pieces of clothing to me.

She exclaimed with genuine emotion, "You're finally back, Lili."

Her smile was genuine, not because she was glad to see me but because she finally had someone to wash her clothes for her again.

As I left the laundry room, Mom's smug voice rang out. "A worthless wretch like her needed to be taught her place. Look! Isn't she so much more well-behaved now?"

She didn't even bother lowering her voice when she caught sight of me.

I remained silent, playing the part of a docile lamb.

However, Mom had no intention of letting me go back to school.

She wanted to teach me a painfully unforgettable lesson.

Three days before the college entrance exam, one of my friends secretly brought me my admission ticket, which I hid at the bottom of my backpack.

While Mom was watching television at night, she gazed scrutinizingly at me and asked, "Are you really not envious that everyone else is preparing for their exams?"

I replied that I was.

She smiled in satisfaction at that and smoothly went on to taunt me.

"Well, live with it anyway. You brought all of this on yourself."

I said nothing.

On the day of the college entrance exam, I kept watching the clock.

As soon as my parents and siblings left for work, I took a taxi to the exam venue.

I also checked my luggage into a nearby hotel.

By the end of the first day of exams, I found 50 missed calls waiting for me on my phone.

"Where did you go? Did you go take the exams?"

"When exactly will you learn to behave?"

"Did I not tell you that you're in no state to take the exams? Get back here right now! Don't make me go and get you myself!"

Instead of replying, I spent every spare second reviewing material for tomorrow's exams.

Still, my parents spotted me the moment I arrived at the exam venue the next morning.

Their eyes promised punishment as they rushed toward me, but I slipped into the hall a step ahead of them.

Mom glared fixedly at me, utterly furious.

"Just you wait, Lilian Chase!"

With my heart pounding in my chest, I turned and rushed inside the hall—the place where I could turn my fate around—without a second glance.

I did exceptionally well on three consecutives subjects.

In the afternoon, I thought that Lady Luck would continue to smile upon me, but my parents still caught me in the end.

Dad covered my mouth, twisted my arm, and dragged me outside.

Mom, on the other hand, was suppressing the urge to hit me.

"When will you stop giving me cause to fret?" she asked angrily.

The parents loitering by the entrance were watching us, but they hesitated to intervene.

I bit Dad's hand. The moment he loosened his grip, I took the opportunity to yell at the top of my lungs, "Let me take the exams, Dad! I don't want an arranged marriage! Mom, I'll earn enough money to support both of you in the future, so please let me take the exams!"

In an instant, most of the parents in the area surrounded us with a mixture of anger and confusion on their faces.

"Your daughter's still so young! How could you two?"

"It's the college entrance exam! Surely there's nothing so urgent that you can't wait for your daughter to finish taking the exams?"

"Hurry up and let her go, or I'm going to call the police!"

Mom turned pale, then red with anger. "Don't listen to her nonsense. She's mentally unstable."

Nobody believed her.

On the contrary, one parent even said with contempt, "I think you're the mentally unstable one here. What parent would stop their own daughter from taking the college entrance exam?"

Feeling intimidated, Dad unconsciously let go of my hand.

"Run!" an older lady yelled at me from the crowd.

I turned and ran back into the exam hall.

My parents could only watch as my figure gradually vanished into the distance.

They didn't dare get in my way again for the rest of the day.

However, as soon as the exams ended, my parents led my siblings to the hotel I was staying in with lengths of hemp rope in their hands.

"Which room is my daughter, Lilian Chase, staying in?" Dad asked the front desk aggressively.

This time, they'd come up with a thorough plan to tie me up and take me home.

The exams were already over, so nobody could protect me anymore.

They felt smug because they were certain they'd planned everything out perfectly, but the receptionist's reply caused them to pale and freeze up.